LOR's for the non-trads

5+ Year Member

For those of you who have been out of school for a while how did you get your letters of rec. from science professors? Did you send them to interfolio before graduating or did you ask your boss, volunteer coordinator, etc.? I will soon have the same dilemma. Please tell me in detail; it will be of great benefit.

10+ Year Member

For those of you who have been out of school for a while how did you get your letters of rec. from science professors? Did you send them to interfolio before graduating or did you ask your boss, volunteer coordinator, etc.? I will soon have the same dilemma. Please tell me in detail; it will be of great benefit.

Peace

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Most places require current LOR's. Even if you had asked for LOR's before you graduated, you would need to ask for updated ones when you're ready to apply. I took some post-bach classes after I graduated, so I asked for LOR's from those professors. I also asked for LOR's from prof's at my professional school. If you're gonna be out of school for 1 year, you should be able to ask your undergrad professors - they should still remember you. I think a letter from your boss or doctors you've shadowed would be good as well. Hope this helps.

10+ Year Member

Most places require current LOR's. Even if you had asked for LOR's before you graduated, you would need to ask for updated ones when you're ready to apply. I took some post-bach classes after I graduated, so I asked for LOR's from those professors. I also asked for LOR's from prof's at my professional school. If you're gonna be out of school for 1 year, you should be able to ask your undergrad professors - they should still remember you. I think a letter from your boss or doctors you've shadowed would be good as well. Hope this helps.

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I have not been in school for 7 years, and I did use one or two LOR's from my undergraduate and graduate professors. But I also supplemented it with a current LOR (from my mentor in grad school, he wrote it in 2005) and one of the CEO's I worked with.

I suppose current LOR's would be preferable, but an excellent *old* LOR is better than a mediocre *current* LOR.

5+ Year Member

If none of your old professors remember you then you are going to have to take some classes and get some new ones. You can use a letter from your boss but if you don't have any academic letters you will be at a disadvantage. I think most schools won't waive their letter requirements even if you are a "non-trad".

10+ Year Member

LOR's is the one area where non-trads are at a definite disadvantage. Most school do not give you the same consideration without a "pre-med' committee letter, as I found out my first round of applying.

I went back 4 years to my old professors, who barely remembered me, but could look up my grades in their classes. One science professor who I needed a letter from had passed away, so it was definitely tough to get them sorted out. I sent them preaddressed/ prestamped envelopes and asked them to drop them in the mail after signing the flap to indicate they mailed them. It worked for 2 schools where I got interviewed - out of 12.

Some schools allow you to have your coworkers/supervisors submit letters, which I did. But frankly, these letters aren't given the same weight as a science professor whose sole job is to grade your scientific abilities in the classroom/laboratory.

The only sure way to go around this is to take classes as a postbacc/or special student and get a committee letter. That's what I did, and I got accepted this round pretty early on.

Do I think the difference was just the LOR's? No, but I think they were a major piece of the puzzle, since most schools base who they invite for interviews solely upon the committee's evaluation - which is why it's so important.

Good luck.

"If civilization is to survive, we must cultivate the science of human relationships - the ability of all peoples, of all kinds, to live together, in the same world at peace."- FDR

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LOR's is the one area where non-trads are at a definite disadvantage. Most school do not give you the same consideration without a "pre-med' committee letter, as I found out my first round of applying.

I went back 4 years to my old professors, who barely remembered me, but could look up my grades in their classes. One science professor who I needed a letter from had passed away, so it was definitely tough to get them sorted out. I sent them preaddressed/ prestamped envelopes and asked them to drop them in the mail after signing the flap to indicate they mailed them. It worked for 2 schools where I got interviewed - out of 12.

Some schools allow you to have your coworkers/supervisors submit letters, which I did. But frankly, these letters aren't given the same weight as a science professor whose sole job is to grade your scientific abilities in the classroom/laboratory.

The only sure way to go around this is to take classes as a postbacc/or special student and get a committee letter. That's what I did, and I got accepted this round pretty early on.

Do I think the difference was just the LOR's? No, but I think they were a major piece of the puzzle, since most schools base who they invite for interviews solely upon the committee's evaluation - which is why it's so important.

Good luck.

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Thanks for posting this! By the time I get around to application, I will be out of my B.S./M.S. programs for 10 years and already some professors have passed away or retired! I've been making nice with my current professors/instructors to get those LORs!

"I apologize for nothing"
- TV's Andy Levy

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5+ Year Member

For others who are out of undergrad for 5-6 years as I was, it's still okay to go back to your undergrad pre-med committee. I called my big kahuna up in January, she was very encouraging and assigned me an advisor. For my undergrad, I wrote up some autobio and submitted a resume. I also forwarded LORs from post-bacc professors, former boss, and former professors to the committee. I chatted with my advisor several times and did a mock interview. She had a committee letter ready by June, before summer break. Thereafter, I just had the coordinator send out LORs ad hoc as needed.

7+ Year Member

5+ Year Member

I'll add my 2-cents I graduated 5 years ago and called the Pre-med advisor to talk. They still had my file with the old letters but a lot of schools will take a letter from the pre-med advisor/committee instead of the 2 science professors. He read my old letters and then I drove the 5.5 hours down to school to meet with him one Friday so he could get to know me a bit since he wasn't the pre-med advisor when I was in school. It really worked out and then I suplemented that with my letter from my current boss and my clinical experience one.